Christopher Columbus inaugurated unprecedented global changed when he sailed from Europe to the Caribbean in 1492. But he brought with him expectations that his “discovery” of this new found route to “India” would see the beginning of the end of the world. He wrote about these expectations in his Book of Prophecies. Come behold the apocalypse on today’s Footnoting History.
Host: Josh  Print Engraving from Charles Johnson’s A General History of the Pyrates c. 1725.
What do you do when you’re bored with the genteel life of a plantation owner? You take to the seas and become friends with Blackbeard, of course. Follow the fascinating life – and peculiar choices – of Stede Bonnet, the Gentleman Pirate, this week on Footnoting History.
Host: Kristin 
Plucked from obscurity to become the wife of an emperor, Irene of Athens went on to become regent and empress in her own right. A ruthless strategist, an international diplomat, and an intelligent politician, she was also an influential participant in Byzantium’s early medieval controversy over icons, which some saw as threatening imperial power. This episode explores her life, reign, and historical reputation.
Host: Lucy 
Before the land boom and amusement parks, Florida was still seen as part of the US's frontier. In this episode, Elizabeth explores the state's history of white settlement and the term "Cracker".
Podcaster: Elizabeth 
In the 15th century, Anne Neville married twice, once to each side fighting in the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband was the Lancastrian heir and her second became a Yorkist king. In this episode, join Christine for a look at Anne’s life and the people in it, including her two husbands, and her sister Isabel.
Host: Christine  Liberté de mariage (Divorce), 1793-1794, via Bibliothèque nationale de France.
During France's long revolutionary period, a lot of things changed, including how you could end your marriage. In this episode, Christine takes a look at the introduction of divorce in France, including some of the ways you could (and couldn't) legally split from your spouse from the dawn of the French Revolution through the Napoleonic years and beyond.
Podcaster: Christine  Martyrdom of the Franciscans (Ambrogio Lorenzetti)
In the early fourteenth century, four Franciscan friars set out for East Asia to preach the Gospel among the Mongols. In the city of Thana (modern Mumbai), however, they met their end after running afoul of the local administrators. We explore their story, a Latin Christian understanding of Asia, and more in this episode of Footnoting History.
Podcaster: Josh 
Ever wondered what would be on the menu in medieval England? Take a look with Kristin at one of the oldest English cookbooks, The Forme of Cury, and see what Richard II was having for dinner in this week’s episode of Footnoting History!
Podcaster: Kristin 
What does Beowulf have to do with the linguistics of African-American history? The same man studied them both… and his scholarship on medieval literature helped frame his search for linguistic communities. This podcast examines the career of Lorenzo Dow Turner, celebrated linguist known as the Father of Gullah Studies. Turner studied the language, ideas, and culture of Black island communities in the southeastern United States, and created recognition for that culture in so doing.
Podcaster: Lucy 
Starting in the late 1800s, forward thinking progressives embraced the idea that human evolution needed a little help in order to make sure that only the best (in their view) produced. Eventually, this idea became codified in legislation and even the Supreme Court of the United States supported it. Join Elizabeth as she examines the formulation of this idea and its impact.
Podcaster:Elizabeth 
In the Ottoman Empire, royal women were to be neither seen nor heard - after giving birth to the Sultan's child, they were supposed to recede into the background, focused on raising that potential heir. And, yet, in the 1500s, a young concubine captured the heart of one of the greatest leaders of all history. By doing so, she ushered in a period known as the Sultanate of Women. And we don't even know her real name. In this episode, join Elizabeth as she examines the history of the "Joyful One."
Podcaster: Elizabeth 
Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria became Emperor Napoleon I of France's second wife in 1810, only a few years before he was overthrown. This episode covers the ups and downs of Marie Louise's life before, during, and after her time with Napoleon.
Podcaster: Christine 
While most of us imagine life in Hollywood’s golden age as glamorous and full of star-studded extravaganzas, for Milicent Patrick, it was anything but. Working behind the scenes and on the sides of the sound stage, Patrick designed perhaps the most famous monster in movie history: The Creature from the Black Lagoon. In this episode, we trace the incredible intersections Patrick’s life had in history as well as her should-be-celebrated film career.
Podcaster: Josh 
Plague has taken over settlements throughout history, causing sickness and death to spread among the inhabitants. In 1665, one English town decided to stand against the resurging Plague. For 14 months, the Derbyshire town of Eyam self-isolated. No one was allowed in, no one as allowed out. Neighboring villages supported the isolated town by leaving supplies in a field. This week, Lesley discusses the consequences of their strategy.
Podcaster: Lesley  Chart of William Miller's Calculations via Wikimedia Commons.
In the Bible, Jesus tells his disciples the following about the end of the world: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father." (Matthew 24:36). Despite this, William Miller, a popular minister in New York, preached that he had calculated the precise day on which the world would come to an end. He was wrong. Twice. In this episode, Josh explores William Miller’s conversion to evangelical Christianity, his calculations about the end of the world, and the fallout from his incorrect predictions.
Podcaster:Josh 
The Aztecs are famous as conquerors, as sometime cannibals, and as, eventually, the conquered of an expanding European empire. This episode goes beyond human sacrifice to look at how Aztec beliefs about the body, religion, and nature were reflected in their practices of medicine and healing. Dismissed as sorcerers by some Spanish observers, physicians were significant to Aztec culture, and active in providing healing, surgery, and preventative care.
Podcaster: Lucy  Jane Manning James among the Pioneers of 1847 at the Utah Pioneer Jubilee, Salt Lake City, Utah, July 24th 1897, via Library of Congress.
Jane Manning James was a devoted member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the moment she was baptized in the 1840s. Here, Christine and Elizabeth discuss her experiences as one of the earliest Black women in the majority-white religion - including her interactions with the church's founder, Joseph Smith, and her fight for full inclusion.
Podcasters: Christine and Elizabeth  Pact with the devil. Francesco Maria Guazzo, Compendium maleficarum (Milan, 1608)
Witchcraft in the late medieval and early modern European world was a highly gendered crime. The majority of victims were women but a significant percentage were men – and in some regions, men made up the majority of the accused. The male witch appeared wherever there were witchcraft accusations – he was known as a maleficius, a wicca, a sorcier, or hexenmeister … just don’t call him a warlock.
Podcaster: Kristin 
In 1562, Spaniard Diego de Landa destroyed 5000 documents recording 800 years of Mayan religion, culture, and history. The Spanish claimed to be fighting black magic and only 4 pages survived their destruction. In this episode, Lesley tells the story of the burning and the consequence of these actions.
Podcaster: Lesley |
